Angela
Angela is with her little rookery sister Daralynn Fox Xanatos the daughter of David Xanatos and Fox. Canon Point Following 'The Journey', the final canonical episode of the TV series. Background In the early years of the 10th century, the world was inhabited by two very different races. Humans and gargoyles lived, if not in harmony, then at least side by side. It was a time of superstition and warfare, but one Scottish castle, the Castle Wyvern, thrived due to an alliance between a gargoyle clan and a human ruler. However, the gargoyles were eventually betrayed and the majority of the clan were shattered while the slept as stone. The surviving adults – including the clan leader, Goliath – were frozen in time by a magic spell, fated not to wake up until the castle ‘rose above the clouds’. The surviving eggs were left in the care of three humans: the Magus, Princess Katherine and Tom. Eventually, the humans were forced to leave their own world behind to protect the eggs. They travelled to the magical island of Avalon and it was there that the eggs – including Angela – hatched. They were raised in peace and prosperity by their guardians, listening to the tales of the heroic Wyvern Clan and doing their best to become warriors despite the lack of foes to fight. When Angela was an adult, a malevolent sorcerer known as the Archmage attacked the island. Tom returned to the real world in search of help and was reunited by Goliath, who had made his home in Manhattan after being woken up at last. The clan leader – along with Bronx and his human ally, Elisa Maza – travelled to Avalon and fought alongside the adult eggs in order to defeat the Archmage. Eager to learn about the outside world, Angela elected to accompany Goliath and Elisa when they left Avalon. The group did not return to Manhattan straight away, however, and instead travelled to many locations around the world. During their travels, Angela learned the identity of her biological parents: Goliath and his former mate and present enemy, Demona. (Although gargoyles usually raise their children as a clan, Angela’s unusual upbringing meant that she began to call an initially unwilling Goliath “father” at once. It took him a lot longer to accept their relationship.) When the travellers returned to Manhattan, Angela joined the clan there and soon became an object of affection for the three young male gargoyles, Brooklyn, Lexington and Broadway. She eventually began to develop romantic feelings for the latter, who regarded her as more than simply an attractive, available female gargoyle. (Their relationship was pushed forward more rapidly when they were temporarily possessed by the souls of two mated gargoyles, Othello and Desdemona, but it had been growing beforehand.) She also tried to connect with her mother when Demona was temporarily captured by the Manhattan clan. Although she initially attempted to use Angela, Demona eventually formed some tender feelings for her daughter and betrayed her lover, Thailog, in order to save her life. When a subversive group known as ‘the Hunters’ arrived in New York in search of Demona, a case of mistaken identity almost lead to Angela’s death. It also triggered a feud between Goliath and the Hunters which, in turn, resulted in humanity finally becoming aware of the clan’s existence. Angela was extremely upset when she discovered the hostility of the humans in Manhattan, but Broadway managed to convince her that they would be accepted, one day. The pair shared their first kiss soon after this conversation, but, before they could discuss their feelings properly, Angela entered the stone sleep and found herself waking up in the City instead of Manhattan. Personality Because of her peaceful childhood on the island of Avalon, Angela is more naïve than the rest of the Manhattan gargoyle clan. She was raised by humans, and, consequently, struggles to understand why so many of the people in New York fear – and, worse than that, hate - her clan. She is greatly distressed by the attitudes they display when the existence of the gargoyles is finally announced to the world. She is still a little too trusting for her own good, largely because, for the first few decades of her life, she had no experience of malice or even of danger. Although her travels forced her to become a fast learner, she still has a lot to learn about the modern world and the types of people that live in it. (This is particularly a problem when it comes to her mother, Demona. Despite knowing what the older gargoyle is capable of, Angela can’t help but hope that her mother will one day be able to overcome her hatred of humans and find redemption.) She is wiling to give people second chances if they apparently deserve them and she always does her best to see the best in people. It is difficult for her to acknowledge that in some people there is no good to see. That doesn’t fit with the optimistic world view she learned on Avalon. Admittedly, when it comes to humans, Angela is now a little more wary. The recent events in New York has given her a better idea of what humans – particularly humans who don’t approve of gargoyles – are capable of, even if she isn’t particularly pleased with the knowledge. She has to be a little more cynical, as she has no desire to put herself or her clan in danger. However, she is still very much willing to give people a chance if they want it. She wants to find humans who will accept her kind. She wants the hostility of the humans in Manhattan to be an isolated incident. She knows that skulking in the shadows is not going to help her clan to find friends and allies, or help them to prove their benevolence to the people who fear them. She truly believes – partially thanks to a conversation with Broadway – that the gargoyles will be accepted eventually, and in the meantime is important to show humans why they deserve that acceptance. Unlike most gargoyles, Angela knows the identity of her biological parents and considers their specific family bonds to be very important in the same way a human child would. (This is, again, due to her unusual upbringing on Avalon. In the past, young gargoyles were raised by the clan as a whole.) She considers the rest of her clan – the rest of her family, though not related by blood – to be of utmost importance as well, and loves and trusts them implicitly. She would never consciously do anything to endanger them and is usually happy to defer to the clan leader, Goliath, when decisions need to be made. (However, because of their father-daughter relationship, she will question his judgement if it’s truly necessary. She’ll just do so … carefully.) The idea of one of them lying or betraying the others is worse than anathema. It is impossible. She grew up listening to the legends of the Wyvern clan from Princess Katherine and the Magus and, consequently, shares the gargoyle ideals of loyalty and justice despite being raised in a highly unusual fashion. Although she is usually kind and relatively gentle, Angela occasionally displays traces of a familial temper. She is angered by injustice (and, on occasion, by the nickname of ‘Angie’) and was therefore more than happy to join the clan in its mission to protect the people of Manhattan. During the course of her travels, Angela has learned to put her temper to good use and hold her own as a gargoyle warrior. Although she was considered capable enough on Avalon, there were no foes there for her to face there and she didn’t have much cause to practise. It wasn’t until the attack of the Archmage – and Goliath’s subsequent arrival – that things began to change. It triggered a desire to see the world outside the island, as well as a desire to prove herself that persists to this day. Abilities and Weaknesses Angela is, first and foremost, a warrior. She uses the abilities of the gargoyle race – the capability to glide on currents of wind, immense physical strength and a rejuvenating stone sleep that she passes into during the day – to defend Manhattan and fight alongside her clan. However, she is not invincible and can be wounded by a number of human weapons including guns and lasers. Furthermore, she is very vulnerable during the day and can’t defend herself while she sleeps. Category:Characters Category:Living